Reseach in Motion supremo Jim Balsillie is making another attempt to bring a second NHL team to southern Ontario, offering $248-million CDN to rescue struggling NHL team Phoenix Coyotes on the condition that they become Canada's seventh NHL team. Balsillie's recent offer to make the National Hockey League team the third NHL team in Ontario is no surprise, but NHL officials may not be in a position to turn down his efforts to bring the NHL to southern Ontario this time given the recent financial crisis.
Balsillie Wants NHL in Hamilton
Balsillie will hope it's third time lucky in his fantasy hockey attempt to bring a second NHL team to Ontario, with cities like Hamilton regularly mentioned. In 2006, he made an offer for the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins, and a year later he tried to buy the Nashville Predators and bring the NHL to Hamilton.
The recent offer to buy the bankrupt Coyotes is conditional on the team playing in southern Ontario, with Hamilton, Kitchener and Waterloo (home of Balsillie's office at RIM) frequently cited as candidates for NHL hockey. All are within the 80 km territorial rights of the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs, and in Hamilton's case, the Buffalo Sabres. Windsor is a non-starter given the proximity of NHL Stanley Cup champions the Detroit Red Wings, while London may be too far from other major urban centres to support a NHL team in Ontario.
Phoenix to Make it Seven?
Balsillie wants to bring the Phoenix Coyotes north and "make it seven" NHL teams in Canada. The Coyotes were actually one of eight Canadian NHL teams in their guise as the Winnipeg Jets until 1996. The Quebec Nordiques became the Colorado Avalanche, while franchises continue to operate in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.
A ready-made rivalry would be in place between a second NHL team in Toronto and the Maple Leafs, not to mention local rivals in Detroit, Buffalo, the Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators. Those who can't get tickets to Leafs games would flock to another NHL team in southern Ontario (or even in Toronto), and games between the two would be at the highlight of each other's calendar.
NHL in Ontario
The NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs hold territorial rights over the region and could attempt to veto a move to bring another NHL team to Ontario. At a recent speaking engagement, a high-placed official at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (the Maple Leafs' parent company) diplomatically stated that MLSE would review an offer for a second NHL team in Toronto if the NHL brought it forward.
Real-life Fantasy Hockey
It's unclear if the Toronto region is on Balsillie's real-life fantasy hockey gameplan, but he'll be aware of a ready-made NHL arena in the Air Canada Centre. The ACC could host the relocated Coyotes when the Maple Leafs were playing away and vice versa. Rather than infringing on the Leafs' margins, another NHL team at the ACC would be paying rent and likely wouldn't take away from the Leafs' sold-out attendance.
Second NHL Team in Toronto
In the past, there has been talk of a second NHL team in Toronto, whether by relocating a struggling NHL team like Phoenix or Nashville or by expansion, and why not? The region around New York City is able to support the NHL's Rangers, Islanders and New Jersey Devils, while Los Angeles boasts the Kings and the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.
While we're forecasting long-term, why not another Major League Soccer team in Toronto? Toronto FC regularly sell-out the 20-000 seater BMO Field, and similar arguments could be made to suggest the region could support another Major League Soccer team in Toronto.
NHL and NHL in Canada
The global financial crisis stemmed talk of major expansion of North American sports into global markets, although the NFL has began to play regular-season games in London, England, with just such a long-term vision of sports globalization in mind. The Buffalo Bills are playing more games every year in Toronto, and the NFL in Toronto may become permanent when wealthy patron and nonegenarian Ralph Wilson can no longer fund the team from his pocket.
NHL in Hamilton?
In the short-term, however, a second NHL team in southern Ontario may no longer be a fantasy hockey dream thanks to opportunistic investors like Jim Ballsilie. Long-suffering fans in Ontario, alienated from the Maple Leafs, will care little if a new team in the region represents the former Phoenix Coyotes or an expansion NHL team. Whether in Toronto, Hamilton, Kitchener, Waterloo, or elsewhere, another NHL team in Ontario can only serve to grow the game in Canada.
Scott Ferguson - Law student and journalist with interest in politics and sport. I am the Toronto correspondent for American Soccer News and a regular ...
